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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24528421">Tunnel Vision</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/starchitect/pseuds/starchitect'>starchitect</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Xenoblade Chronicles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, M/M, Post-Game, Shulk is autistic, alt title: Shulk forgets what self-care is, anyway these kids are somft, bless him, idk what else to tag, it's canon folks, link in the notes, this boy CANNOT FUNCTION ON HIS OWN, update: this work has fanart now!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:28:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,088</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24528421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/starchitect/pseuds/starchitect</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Listen to me,” Reyn says, placing his hands on Shulk’s shoulders. “You can’t just <em>not</em> eat for a whole 24 hours! And refusing to sleep is just as bad. That ain’t normal, man! You’re not superhuman!”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sharla/Vanea (Xenoblade Chronicles), Shulk/Reyn/Fiora/Melia, is there a tag for that yet?? there is now</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tunnel Vision</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Ship Week is a week away and I can't stop thinking about these kids so here's this</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Shulk found himself waking up in Colony 9’s medical wing, he knew something was wrong. This isn’t where he’s supposed to be... Wasn’t he just working in the lab a minute ago? How did he end up here of all places?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He groans and sits up, and it’s now that he notices the IV plugged into his left arm. He frowns—something bad must have happened to warrant such a thing. But before he can make any assumptions, a flash of color darts into the room before disappearing, and a voice rings out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sharla! He’s awake!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was that...Linada?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shulk blinks in confusion, and a moment later, Sharla bursts into the room, and Shulk doesn’t think he’s ever seen her look so disappointed. Dread seeps in as she approaches him and places her hands on her hips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back among the living, I see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sharla,” he breathes. “What happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t remember? Reyn told me he found you unconscious in the lab a few hours ago. Said that was the first time he’d seen you in twenty-four hours. How long were you there, anyway?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinks again. “I… I’m not sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shulk wants to say it wasn’t nearly for as long as Sharla says it was, but something about the look on her face tells him he’s wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You overworked yourself again, didn’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t need to answer that question, so he doesn’t. He knows Sharla already knows the answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that’s not all, is it?” the medic continues, crossing the room to switch out the IV bag for a new one. “Tell me, when was the last time you had a full meal?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s...a good question. Shulk furrows his brow, racking his brain for an answer, but ultimately comes up empty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me guess. You don’t remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shulk can’t bring himself to look Sharla in the eye anymore. He ducks his head and shrinks as much as he can, suddenly feeling incredibly small. Sharla sighs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shulk, how many times have we told you? You can’t just—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her sentence is cut off by voices coming from the next room. In the next moment, the door busts open, and Reyn suddenly crashes into the room, followed closely by Fiora and Melia.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shulk! You’re awake!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sharla huffs and crosses her arms. “I thought I told you to wait before coming in here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But we’ve hardly seen him!” the redhead pleads. “Come on, Sharla, please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The medic opens her mouth, but before she can respond, Dunban enters with a cool expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, let them see him, Sharla. They’ve been worrying themselves sick for the last few hours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Shulk can only look back and forth while all this is happening. He almost considers chiming in, but he doubts anything he could say would turn the tide of this conversation. He shrinks further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Besides, I need to ask you and Vanea about your wedding,” Dunban continues. “We can give these four some privacy for a little while, I think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At this, Sharla looks down at her ring, a reminder of her recent engagement to Vanea. She smiles softly, and after a moment, she sighs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. That’s fine, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Sharla and Dunban’s footsteps fade, everyone else turns to Shulk with varying degrees of worry. Melia takes his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you feeling better?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nods. “Yeah, much better. Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the other side of him, Reyn growls and rakes a hand through his hair. Shulk holds his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the bloody hell were you </span>
  <em>
    <span>thinking, </span>
  </em>
  <span>man?! We were worried sick about you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Fiora chimes in, just as upset. “When are you going to learn to take care of yourself? What if something happens and none of us are around?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen to me,” Reyn says, placing his hands on Shulk’s shoulders. “You can’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>not eat</span>
  </em>
  <span> for a whole 24 hours! And refusing to sleep is just as bad. That ain’t normal, man! You’re not superhuman!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Melia squeezes his hand gently. She’s considerably less angry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They are right, Shulk. Such habits are far from healthy.” She kisses his knuckles. “We understand that your work is important...but not at the cost of your physical health.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shulk swallows, blinking rapidly. Having everyone fretting over him is overwhelming. His throat closes up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I’m sorry,” he chokes. “I thought… I didn’t realize…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His breathing quickens involuntarily. The guilt is building up, threatening to spill over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he repeats. “I’m sorry…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The tears come without warning. The mood instantly shifts, and Reyn quickly withdraws with wide eyes. Fiora shoves her way past him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey...” she whispers, voice much softer now. “Don’t cry… It’s okay. Reyn is just worried. We all were.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She plants a kiss on his forehead and takes his free hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can all cuddle together after Sharla lets you go. And I’ll make your favorite food. Sound good?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shulk nods and smiles weakly. “Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In the meantime,” Melia begins, releasing his hand for a moment. “I thought you might get bored, so I brought you this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She procures a small cube with various buttons and switches on its sides and places it in Shulk’s open palm. Shulk smiles gratefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know me too well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Truthfully, he was worried he would be stuck here for a while, but having something to stim with will certainly help pass the time. And Reyn, Fiora, and Melia will no doubt be visiting him again before Sharla allows him to leave. It won’t be that bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we should probably head out,” Reyn says, gesturing to the door and taking Fiora’s free hand. “We’ll let you rest for now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fiora hums and squeezes Shulk’s hand one last time before kissing his cheek. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll see you later, alright?” Melia whispers. She gently brushes the tears away from his face and kisses his nose. “You get some rest for now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that they mention it, Shulk is still a little tired. It would be good to sleep for a while longer. He hums and sinks beneath the sheets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” he mumbles, fatigue already beginning to overtake him. “Reyn, Fiora… Melia.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes have fallen shut, but he can feel their smiles shining back at him. Reyn sighs dreamily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We love you too, man. Sweet dreams.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sweet dreams,” Fiora and Melia add.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then the room is silent as they close the door behind them. Shulk’s breathing slows, and before long, he falls into a deep sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dreams of the four of them, smiling and happy.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>shoutout to my friend Bella for dragging me aboard the Sharnea train<br/>bless u</p><p>UPDATE: THERE'S FANART FOR THIS!!! Please go check out this <a href="https://tin-pin-artist.tumblr.com/post/620270489219284992/">wonderful art</a> by cuttlefishknight on Tumblr!! It's so cute and soft I can't stop looking at it hhhhhh</p></blockquote></div></div>
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